A man brandished a metal pole at his neighbour after becoming angry about the state of the recycling bins near his home.
Stewart Lafferty lost his temper after drinking alcohol on New Year’s Day this year when his neighbour stated that everyone needed to do their bit to “save the planet”.
The 41-year-old immediately became aggressive and shouted “come back here and save the f****** planet!”
He then picked up a metal pole, brandished it at his neighbour, and shouted at him.
Fiscal depute David Rogers told the court that at around 3pm on January 1 this year one of Lafferty’s neighbours left his home to dispose of some cardboard in the recycling bins on Eigie Crescent, Balmedie.
“On approaching the bin area, the accused and the complainer engaged in conversation,” Mr Rogers said.
“The accused said to him that he was hoping the complainer ‘was regretting’ making a complaint about him.
“The neighbour then joked with the accused and uttered something along the lines of ‘we have to save the planet’.
“As he walked away he heard the accused shouting: ‘Come over here and save the f****** planet!”
Lafferty was then seen picking up a metal pole and brandishing it at his neighbour while shouting again that he should “come back here and save the f****** planet!”
While doing this, Lafferty was banging the metal pole off the nearby bins.
Sometime later, as police approached Lafferty next to the bins, he became aggressive and held his arms out in a fight-like stance.
He was handcuffed and, as he was led away to a police vehicle, he stated to officers: “Do you want to get f****** hurt?”
During an interview, Lafferty told police he was that he had been “cleaning up the bin area then someone called the police”.
“No one ever does the f****** cleaning,” he added.
Lafferty pleaded guilty to two charges of behaving in a threatening or abusive manner.
‘He acted in a wholly appropriate way’
Defence agent Andrew Ormiston told the court that his client had “taken alcohol” that day but was also “upset because the communal bin area was not being used properly by other residents”.
He added: “Mr Lafferty recognises that he shouldn’t have behaved in the manner that he did and that he acted in a wholly inappropriate way.”
Sheriff Morag McLaughlin sentenced Lafferty, of Pettens Close, Balmedie, to a community payback order with 30 hours of unpaid work.
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